


Enlightenment

by Akiko_Natsuko



Series: The Zine Collection [6]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Blood and Injury, Forgiveness, Friendship, Gen, Guilt, Missions Gone Wrong, Realization, Rescue, Understanding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-14
Updated: 2018-11-14
Packaged: 2019-08-22 20:15:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16604771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akiko_Natsuko/pseuds/Akiko_Natsuko
Summary: “You’re only here because of Genji,” he muttered instead, knowing that his brother spent an inordinate amount of time worrying about him, even after everything he had done. It was the only reason that made sense to him, the only reason someone like Zenyatta would have taken such a risk.“Would it make you feel better if I said that it was?” Zenyatta asked calmly, studying him quietly and Hanzo found himself having to look away. No, it wouldn’t.When a mission gone wrong results in Hanzo being rescued by Zenyatta, they both find themselves learning something new about themselves and each other.





	Enlightenment

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Zano Zine.

    Hanzo hissed as he attempted to find a more comfortable position against the wall, fingers tightening around his bow as the movement jolted the wounds in his chest and side. Zenyatta’s harmony orb was already at work, its soft glow warm and soothing against his skin, but it was slow and did little to ease the pain, and he sighed, letting his head fall back against the wall. The mission had been a disaster from the start, too little intelligence, combined with locals who had been swayed to Talon’s side, had left them facing not only Talon agents but an entire town determined to thwart their efforts to retrieve the payload. He closed his eyes, trying not to think about how much it had reminded him of Hanamura during the days when his clan had been in power, how everyone had been dragged into their conflicts, no matter whether they were armed or not, or if they were trying to just live out their own lives.

    He had always hated it, arguing against it even when he had been the obedient son, unable to forget the sight of bodies in the street when different factions had tried to move against the Shimadas. Today had been too close to that. Civilians caught up in a fight that they didn’t belong in, and his hand drifted down to his side, ghosting over the wound when he had flung himself between a teenager and the Talon agent who had turned and fired at the first sign of movement, not waiting to see who he was shooting at. The boy’s terrified expression had reminded him too much of Genji the first time his brother had been involved in clan activities, of the expression that had greeted Hanzo himself on that fateful night and he’d moved without thinking, shielding the boy with his own body.

“Leave it be,” a quiet voice ordered, cool fingers grasping his hand and pulling it away from the wound and his eyes shot opened as he tilted his head to level a glare at his companion. Zenyatta also looked worse for wear, his metal plating badly dented in places, with blue fluid seeping out in several places, but he seemed serene as ever as he released Hanzo’s hand and turned his attention back to his work.

“Why did you follow me?” Hanzo asked after a few minutes of watching the Omnic working. As soon as it had become clear that they weren’t going to reach the payload Winston had ordered the retreat, only to find Talon already moving to block their escape. Hanzo hadn’t even thought about it, unleashing his dragons not to hurt this time, but to slow Talon, giving the rest of the team time to flee and leaving himself cut off and alone. Or so he had thought.

   He’d fled as soon as he was sure the team was safe, slipping away through the narrow alleys and back streets of the town with Talon in close pursuit. His injuries had slowed him down, and it had seemed that no matter where he went, there were eyes on him and tongues that were more than willing to betray him, and he had begun to lose hope that he would be able to put enough distance between them to escape. Moving had taken its toll on him until he was reduced to staggering along, exhausted and dizzy as he pressed a hand to his side and felt the blood pooling against his fingers. It hadn’t stopped him from trying to fight back when he had been grabbed a couple of minutes later, lashing out blindly before he’d registered the distinctive sound of his Stormbow hitting metal. Blinking and coming back to himself as he found Zenyatta hovering in front of him, the Omnic’s grip tightening as the fight had drained from him leaving him barely able to support himself.

    It had been Zenyatta who had guided him to the apartment block they were currently hiding in, quietly urging him on when he had faltered, supporting him when he had threatened to topple to the ground. Zenyatta who had found the empty apartment, picking the lock while Hanzo had leant against the wall, eyes half-closed as he attempted to keep watch. And it was Zenyatta who was now working to heal him, both highly aware of the shouts on the streets and the fact that Talon was still hunting for them, tensing whenever the noise seemed to draw too close, knowing that it would only be a matter of time before they were discovered or forced to move.

“Does it matter?” Zenyatta asked, not quite avoiding the question, blue optics meeting Hanzo’s gaze with a questioning tilt of his head. Hanzo supposed that it didn’t, not really, but he still wasn’t comfortable around the Omnic who had helped his brother find peace, knowing that Zenyatta must have seen and heard the worst of what he had done to Genji and continually waiting for that to show through in his behaviour towards him.

“You’re only here because of Genji,” he muttered instead, knowing that his brother spent an inordinate amount of time worrying about him, even after everything he had done. It was the only reason that made sense to him, the only reason someone like Zenyatta would have taken such a risk.

“Would it make you feel better if I said that it was?” Zenyatta asked calmly, studying him quietly and Hanzo found himself having to look away. _No, it wouldn’t._ He had never been good at lying to himself, even when he had tried to convince himself that what had happened with Genji had been because of the clan, he hadn’t been able to hide the fact that some part of him had resented his wild, carefree brother. That a tiny part of him had wanted to punish Genji for having the freedom he hadn’t been allowed to have. And he couldn’t lie to himself now, knowing that deep down he wanted to believe that someone, even if it was Zenyatta…or, maybe because it was Zenyatta… had followed because it was him because they cared about what happened to him. He wanted to believe that he’d finally found a place where he belonged, a place where he was accepted just as he was.

“No…”

“Good,” Zenyatta sounded pleased and mildly surprised, almost as though he had been expecting Hanzo to say the opposite. To lie, as there was a knowing glint in his gaze when Hanzo risked glancing up. “Then there is no need for me to lie.” Hanzo stiffened at that, not caring that it sent a spike of pain through him and his surprise must’ve been written across his face, because Zenyatta sighed, sounding truly exasperated for the first time since Hanzo had met him. “You still have no comprehension of your own worth, do you?”

“I…” _His worth?_ Hanzo wasn’t afflicted with false modesty, he knew that he had talents, skills that made him useful to Overwatch, especially in this world where they couldn’t act with the same openness that they’d once had. But… there were many people in the world with similar skills, people that came without the burden of being head-hunted by Talon and bounty hunters, people that deserved to fight for an organisation like Overwatch. People who hadn’t tried to kill their brothers. It was why he pushed himself so hard in training and in the field, why he took as many calculated risks as he could, willing to do what was needed if it meant that the rest of the team, the ones that deserved that position would make it home, and he looked down, hands curling into fists in his lap… _I know my worth, and it is limited._

“No.” Zenyatta was stern, and Hanzo blinked, realising that he must have said that thought aloud, but he couldn’t bring himself to look up, keeping his gaze fixated on his hands. _Don’t lie to me._ He thought that Zenyatta would leave it at that. Instead, he felt fingers under his chin, the touch was gentle, but there was a strength in it that Hanzo couldn’t fight. Or maybe he just didn’t want to, obediently lifting his head, although he didn’t quite meet the glowing optics. “You are worth more than you know, Hanzo.” Hanzo shook his head, mind flashing to blood on his hands, his katana clattering to the floor as he realised what he had done, but he couldn’t lose himself in the memory, because Zenyatta’s grip tightened, dragging him back to the present. “Yes, there are things that you have done that can never be forgotten. But they can be forgiven, and they have been.”

“I…”

“Genji forgave you a long time ago,” Zenyatta cut him off easily, and Hanzo sucked in a breath, wanting to deny it, but how many times had Genji told him the same thing? How many times had his brother sought him out on the nights when the memories had been too close to the surface, pulling the bottle of Sake from his hands, and promising him over and over that it was in the past. That he was forgiven. He still didn’t believe it though, and even if it was true, he knew that the others had longer memories, had seen flickers of it in the way they interacted with him, the way they watched him every time Talon tried to reach out to him. “And the rest have accepted that you are not the man they imagined you to be, some because of Genji’s example, while others have made up their minds based on your own actions since you joined us.” Hanzo blinked, wondering how Zenyatta knew exactly where his thoughts had wandered, caught by surprise when the Omnic chuckled softly. “You are easy to read Hanzo, especially for those who are willing to look.”

“And why are you…?” Hanzo asked.

“At first simple curiosity,” Zenyatta admitted easily, releasing his grip on Hanzo’s face now that he was satisfied that Hanzo was listening, turning his attention back to the slowly healing wound. “You were Genji’s brother, someone who had undergone great discord and come out stronger for it. You are also part of Overwatch…” He lifted his head, meeting Hanzo’s gaze. “We were expected to live together, and fight together, it is natural to watch and learn about one’s companions in such situations, and there was much to learn about you.”

“Such as?” Hanzo wasn’t entirely sure that he wanted to know, unsure of whether he was unnerved by the thought of being watched, or relieved that someone had noticed him, and tried to see beyond his past, for no other reason than they wanted to.

“That you are strong.” Hanzo scoffed at that, only to find himself falling silent under the intense stare as Zenyatta continued. “You came through what the clan did to you and your brother, and what in turn you did to him and yourself, without anyone to help you.” Hanzo shivered at that, thinking of the all the lonely nights when all he’d had was alcohol to get him through the memories, the days when he had barely been able to bring himself to try and defend himself when bounty hunters had tracked him down. In the end, it had been because there was no one else to care, no one else to help him shoulder the burden that he had begun to slowly pull himself together because he owed that much to Genji. It hadn’t been easy, and he had stumbled more than once, but he had persevered. Did that make him strong? He wasn’t so sure, but it felt as though some of the weight on his shoulders had lightened just a little.

     Zenyatta hummed, pleased, nodding approvingly as he studied Hanzo’s face become adding. “I have also learned that you were willing to fight for those you don’t know.” Here his fingers skimmed the slowly healing wound to reinforce his words, silencing Hanzo’s instinctive urge to protest. “And risk everything for those you consider yours, even those that you are still unsure about. And I am sure that there is more to learn, so much more.” Zenyatta paused for a moment, seemingly taken aback by his own words before he chuckled. “You asked why I followed you, and it seems as though we are both just discovering the answer to that question.”


End file.
